Covering more than 60,000 square meters, the equivalent of nine soccer pitches, Norwegian retailer Europris’ new storage and distribution center is massive. One of its two buildings rises almost 40 meters above the ground, reminiscent of a skyscraper extending from the flat landscape outside Moss, south of Oslo.

Europris storage facility roof, Norway, Summer 2018

The storage facility is the largest of its kind that has ever been built by a single contractor in Norway. Roof work on such a massive scale is impressive enough, but the challenges were extreme as well.

Cold winter, hot summer

The winter of 2018 in Norway broke records for both temperatures and amount of snow, with -21 degrees Celsius measured on the coldest day. According to Jim Høm, project manager at Protoan Entreprenør AS: «We wanted to start the roof work on February 21, 2018, but that was right in the middle of a huge bout of snow and the coldest spell of weather – so the first thing we had to do was shovel the snow away.»

The wintry conditions were followed by a summer that was also one for the books, with very high temperatures and a number of consecutive days of sun rarely experienced this far north. On the warmest day, work on the roof was discontinued when the thermometer showed 30 degrees Celsius.

Project completed on schedule

Despite these challenges, the ten-man team from Norwegian roofing contractor Protan Entreprenør made impressive progress, managing to weld the huge flat roof within six months. «By September 1, 2018, we had completed the bulk of the roof work and just had a few finishing stages to go,» said Jim Høm.

He was particularly impressed with the speed at which the work took place: «Even in spite of the difficult conditions, the work clipped along at an average speed (welding speed included) of around 7 m2 per hour. That’s exceptionally fast.»

The roof work on video

A video that has been made of the project provides a better idea of the dimensions involved.

Environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral with Leister hot air

The whole roof of the building is covered with a Protan 1.6 mm single-ply membrane made out of recyclable PVC. This material is very eco-friendly on this scale – the low weight of the membrane means more square meters per roll and fewer truckloads, crane lifts, and helicopter drops than other roofing materials. And when it is welded with hot air from Leister’s VARIMAT V2 and TRIACequipment, it leaves no carbon footprint – a great result for both the environment and the project budget.

Safe welding whatever the weather

Hot air welding is also a safe method, eliminating the risk of fires and ensuring improved safety for roofers as a result. Crucially, it is also able to continue come rain or shine, so there is virtually no need to lose valuable time on projects as a result of extreme weather conditions. That’s simply not the case with a blowtorch.

Thank you

We are delighted that Leister was able to be involved in this project, and would like to thank Protan Entreprenør AS for working so well with us and achieving such an impressive outcome.